


Sensations

by orphan_account



Category: Black Widow (Comics), Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Sense8, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Sense8, Everyone Is Alive, Everyone Is Poly Because Avengers, Multi, OT8, Sense8 AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-06
Updated: 2015-08-01
Packaged: 2018-04-03 04:54:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4087702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sense8 AU</p><p>Every now and then, eight people are connected to each other by fate. They are always there for each other in a rather literal sense and have the ability to tap into one another's abilities. What could possibly go wrong?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Darcy Lewis

**Author's Note:**

> I'm obviously taking some liberties with the concept since I'm only on episode 4 of Sense8. People are dying, I'm crying, and if Nomi gets hurt, I'm rioting.

For Darcy Lewis, it was always kind of there. She was perpetually cold, but the feeling would subside for a few days on occasion. Even then, she would still feel a chill climbing up her spine.

Then, in 2011, the cold was cut in half. It felt like she’d woken up after living her life in a freezer… now she was just in a refrigerator. She’d tried mentioning it every now and then to friends and family, but they just said her body was naturally cold. It didn’t feel natural. It felt like she was being surrounded in ice, and it was fighting its way in. And then she was kind of sort of free.

Okay, not the best way of describing it. Still, it felt amazing! Even if she did occasionally have a bruise or two show up without explanation.

She was still in London when everything went wrong.

The first sign came when she and Ian were picking up Erik, and a sharp pain struck her chest, just below her heart. She knew she should have listened to what her body was telling her, but she had way more important things to deal with. Jane and Thor were off God-knows-where with some creepy alien thingy that gave Jane telekinesis. Yeah, a new bruise appearing was the least of her worries.

The real damage came just a few months after the battle against the Dark Elves. Aches and pains had filled her body for the past few days, but this was far worse. Her left shoulder was suddenly burning, and she lost the ability to hold on to her cereal. The bowl dropped from her hand, shattering on the floor as Darcy cried out in pain.

Thor was there supporting her before her knees could hit the floor, and she let out a sob as she leaned on him.

She looked over her damaged shoulder, and her eyes widened in a mix of shock and fear. She wasn’t at Jane’s mom’s house anymore; she was out in the open, hiding behind a car. A man in black aimed a gun at her, but before he could shoot, a figure in tan and blue swooped in.

Darcy threw her head to the right so she was facing forward again, and suddenly she was in the house again, lying on her bed. Four concerned faces leaned over her, and she whimpered in an attempt to hold back another scream. Her right hand was placed firmly over her left shoulder, and Jane was trying to pry it away so she could get a better look.

Thor intervened, pulling at Darcy’s wrist, and the brunette saw red. “I’ve been shot,” she whispered, barely able to speak from the pain.

“There’s nothing here,” Jane declared, and Darcy’s head whipped back to see where Jane had tugged her sweater down. The skin was pristine in comparison to what Darcy had just seen.

_Bucky?_

The voice echoed in Darcy’s head. “Who said that?” she whispered.

_Who the hell is Bucky?_

“Darce, no one said anything,” Jane insisted. “What’s going on? What’s happening?” She looked to Thor, hoping he would have an answer.

The Norse deity only shook his head as Ian left the room, muttering something about an ice pack. He’d been gone for all of two seconds when Team Science!™ heard his voice.

“Guys, you might want to come check this out!” he called back to Darcy’s room. “Captain America and Black Widow have been arrested!”

The three instantly headed into the living room, and even Darcy managed to stumble in. On TV, three people were handcuffed and being led into the back of a military van. The redhead was holding her wrists up to her left shoulder, blood covering that side of her.

“That’s it,” Darcy muttered. “That’s the place.”

Then, she cried out in pain and fell to the floor when Steve and Natasha were shoved in the van.

Darcy couldn’t stop shaking that night. Her mind was racing with one thought after another, each revolving around the people she’d seen during her… travels? No, that wasn’t the right way to put it.

She jerked up in bed, gasping for breath. Part of her saw her room, but part of her saw something else entirely: a poorly lit room. A lab? A military facility? Both? Everything was wrong, so wrong, so painful.

She screamed and threw her left arm out to the side.

Darcy froze and looked up at the sound of a gun. She didn’t say anything when four men walked inside. Fear struck her, but she still said nothing, even when the one in a suit spoke.

And suddenly the back of the man’s hand made contact with her cheek. She screamed in pain but slowly turned her head back anyway.

_The man on the bridge… who was he?_

“What bridge?”

Darcy was suddenly brought back to herself, and her eyes met Erik’s. “What?” she asked, quiet as a mouse. She still couldn’t bring herself to use her voice at its proper volume.

“You said something about a man on a bridge,” Erik explained. “What man? What bridge?”

It took her a moment to respond. “I don’t know,” she confessed. “It’s…” She sighed and shook her head. “If I tell you this, promise you won’t think I’m crazy.”

Erik let out a breath of a laugh. “I don’t think you could beat me if you tried,” he joked. “What’s the matter?”

“I was there when Captain America and Black Widow and that other guy were arrested,” Darcy claimed. “I-I mean, not the entire time, but when she got shot, the Black Widow, I felt it. And then all of a sudden, I was there. And there was a man about to shoot me but the Captain stopped him. And-and-and just now, I was there with the man in black who was attacking them… I don’t know where ‘there’ is, but I was there. Someone’s hurting—”

Darcy cut herself off with a scream, her hands going to her head.

“Hey! Hey! Darcy!” Erik called out to her. “Stay with me, Darce, stay with me.”

The brunette took in a few weak breaths, her body shaking as she calmed down. “They did something to him. He’s unconscious.”

Erik pursed his lips together for a moment, like he was deciding the fate of the word. Eventually, he opened his mouth. “Darcy, when I was little, my mother told me about some of her friends. They were all connected; they could read each other’s minds, feel what the others felt, and even project themselves for the others to see. They were called sensates, eight to each set. This might be what you’re experiencing.”

“Sensates?” Darcy parroted. “So people like Black Widow and that other guy, I’m in their head?”

“And they’re in yours,” Erik confirmed with a nod. “You can help each other from afar, and I think your abilities were trying to activate themselves.”

Darcy scoffed. “What skill could I have to offer?” she asked. “I’m not a superhero; I can’t kill someone with my pinky finger.”

“You’re smart,” Erik declared, cutting Darcy off before she could make any other self-deprecating comments. “You think either of them are going to need computers any time soon?”

In an instant, Darcy’s eyes lit up.


	2. Natasha Romanoff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha's a badass who gets shit done, Darcy's a nerd who does this for fun, and Steve hasn't been this high since he got serum'd.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Darcy's a computer geek and a hacker; I am not. I am making up things as I go.

Natasha started along with Darcy. The bullet went through her, and when she turned to check for attacker, she saw a kitchen. There was an arm around her, holding her close, and she just stared over her left shoulder as she was carried to another room and set down on a bed.

She turned her head back, and she was outside again in the middle of the fight. She made it through, doing the best she could only to be arrested along with Steve and Sam.

When she was at the World Security Council meeting, things got weird again. S.H.I.E.L.D.’s security protocols were good, and the WSC’s were even better. Getting through both had the potential to take hours.

“Try C, B, F4,” a voice whispered in her ear. Natasha whipped her head around to see a brunette woman standing behind her. The young woman was worried, looking over Natasha’s shoulder at the computer screen. “That should let you in.” Natasha turned back to the screen and did as told. When she looked back at the brunette again, she was gone.

_Ding!_

Natasha looked at the computer screen to see that she now had full security access. “Damn,” she muttered in awe. She wasn’t schizophrenic, she knew that, but that _had_ to be a hallucination. A very helpful hallucination, but a hallucination nevertheless.

She got the files up and ready for decryption by the time Fury got there, uploading them to the internet without a hitch until Pierce set off the WSC pins.

“Unless you want two inch hole in your sternum, I'd put that gun down,” Pierce warned. “That was armed the moment you pinned it on.”

Reluctantly, Natasha and Fury lowered their guns.

The redhead almost fell to the ground when a sharp pain hit her shoulder. She held back a whimper, reminding herself that she’d experienced worse in the Red Room. Panic pumped her blood through her body with so much adrenaline that it took her a moment to realize that it wasn’t her sternum being hurt, and Pierce hadn’t pressed the button.

_Bang! Bang!_

She took in a sharp breath when she felt bullets hit her back. Her mind flashed to one of the helicarriers, and she felt herself climbing up onto the bridge. This wasn’t a hallucination. This was where Steve was, and there was a chip in her—his—hand. She stumbled forward, reaching out to brace herself on the console they needed to corrupt.

_Bang!_

She was back in her body, one of her Widow’s Bites in her hand. She pressed it and went down.

_Bang! Bang!_

Those two were real, firing from Fury’s gun into Pierce. And then the Director was at Natasha’s side, gently shaking her. “Romanoff! Natasha! Natasha, come on!” he called to her.

“Ow,” Natasha whimpered as she opened her eyes. “Those really do sting.”

Fury chuckled and helped her to her feet, supporting her as they walked out to the helicopter.

* * *

 

Natasha visited Steve in the hospital. He was loopy from getting way more morphine than the normal person’s body could handle and giggling when she came in.

“Nitty-Natty-Tasha!” he cheered, and Natasha snorted at the nickname. He lifted his hand and pointed at her. “I saw you… when I was a’fightin’ Bucky…” He giggled again, dropping his hand. “I was in the building with you… but you weren’t. Where’a go, Nat?”

A smile on her face from Steve’s antics, Natasha walked over to the side of his bed and sat down in the chair next to it. Her mind was only half on the severity of the situation, the other half fishing for her phone to take a video.

“I think I was in the helicarrier,” Natasha confessed. “But you probably won’t remember any of this once the drugs wear off, so… smile.”

Steve grinned as Natasha raised her phone. “Hi, pretty box!” he called to the phone. “My name’s Steve! Can I tell you a secret?”

Natasha moved the camera closer.

In a stage whisper, Steve continued, “I’a’like Nat. She’s pretty and nice and smart and pretty…”

_Hggnnchhhhh_

Steve laid his head back and promptly began snoring. Natasha ended the video and put the phone away, staring at the Captain with a blank face. Slowly, she leaned in, giving him a soft kiss on the lips.

Before she pulled away, she moved her lips to his ear. “You’d better not snore when you’re off this medicine,” she whispered before leaving the hospital room. She had a meeting to prepare for.


	3. Bucky Barnes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *Man on the Run plays in the background*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dawn's new fic managed to kick my ass in gear and write the next chapter, so this one's dedicated to her. :)

Bucky couldn’t remember his first instance with Darcy Lewis, so in his mind their first interaction was as he was ducking into a HYDRA safe house to get new clothes. As he was pulling a clean shirt over his head, he heard a voice.

“Wish I would’ve gotten here a few seconds sooner.”

Bucky spun around to see a brunette woman looking him up and down. He lunged. She flinched. He fell to the floor.

Slowly, Bucky turned onto his back, staring up at the woman in shock. She turned to face him, and he realized she was just as startled as he was.

“We can’t touch each other yet,” she said, a revelation to them both. “Erik said that once the bond is stronger, we’ll be able to touch even if we’re not together.”

“What?” Bucky asked, eyebrows furrowing. “What do you mean ‘not together?’” He was on high alert, waiting for some sort of trap to be sprung, waiting to be thrown back into that damned chair…

“I’m just now leaving London,” the woman explained. “It’s… it’s a connection we have. I don’t know why we have it, but can help each other this way.” She hesitated. “I wanted to make sure you got out.”

Bucky blinked a couple of times, realizing what she was saying. “Of HYDRA?”

The woman nodded, her head jerking up suddenly at a knocking sound. “Don’t worry, it’s on my side of the link,” she claimed. “Take the phone in here and remove the battery. Then get out, go anywhere but here. I’ll be back to help as soon as I can.”

And she was gone.

In an instant, Bucky went to the desk in the room, opening the drawer and pulling out a phone. He pried open the back and removed the battery, placing each component in a different pocket. He left the safe house and headed back into the city, hoping to blend in with the crowd.

No one noticed when he joined a tour group, shuffling into the Smithsonian and towards the Captain America exhibit. He stopped in his tracks when he saw mention of a James Buchannan Barnes.

_Your name is James Buchannan Barnes. You’re my friend._

Bucky shook his head, trying to get that damned voice out of it. Little flashes of memory ran through his head. A small, sickly, beautiful man kissing his neck. That same beautiful man suddenly tall and healthy, supporting him as they walked out of a room. That same beautiful man kissing his hand and wrist, whispering how happy he was that he was alive. And that strange man with his face feeling so afraid of what that beautiful man might think if he found out what had been done to him during his time in captivity.

“I’m back.”

Bucky didn’t jump despite his surprise, only turning his head to look at the brunette woman. “Who are you?” he asked.

“Darcy Lewis,” the woman replied. “There’s a bathroom that’s been closed for maintenance around the corner; go there and I’ll tell you what to do next.”

It took Bucky all of three seconds to find a moment to get in unnoticed, and he barricaded the door behind him. Darcy was by his side, invisible to the rest of the world.

“Okay, take out the sim card behind where the battery was and scrub it with soap,” she ordered. While Bucky worked, she gave the next direction. “Don’t wash the soap off; just use the hand drier on it and put it back in the phone. Next, you’re gonna open up the battery pack and switch the position of the two wires inside. That should reset the phone and make it untraceable.”

Bucky followed her directions and slid it into his pocket. “Thanks,” he muttered. “How… how can I see you when no one else can? Did HYDRA do something to my brain?”

“No, no” Darcy promised. “Erik called us sensates. We’re connected, you know? Like reading each other’s minds and stuff like that.”

Bucky looked her over and slowly reached out to her with his flesh hand. “Do you think… can I touch you now?”

“I’m not sure,” Darcy confessed, staring at his hand. “Only one way to find out.” She moved her head closer, and his hand made contact with her cheek. His hand slowly moved to the back of her neck, his touch feather-light like he was afraid she would disappear.

Then he tugged her forward, and their lips met. They moved in a flurry, Bucky pushing her into the wall and grabbing at her thighs, pulling her jeans down while Darcy fumbled with the buttons on his shirt.

_Darcy? Darcy, wake up. We’re here._

Darcy moaned and pulled away from the kiss. “I’m sorry, I have to go,” she apologized. “I’m on a plane to New York. I’ll see you as soon as I can. Just trust yourself.” She kissed him one last time before she vanished.

Bucky growled in frustration, letting his head fall forward against the wall.

After that, Bucky was on the run, patiently waiting for the next piece of advice from his sensate.


	4. Tony Stark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony notices that someone's sleeping arrangements are... atypical.

Darcy frowned a tiny bit as she looked around her room, and of course Tony noticed. He felt that twinge of sadness himself, and when Darcy walked back into the living room of her apartment, he got to his feet and walked up to her.

“Are you okay?” he asked, putting his hands on her shoulders. “Do you not like your room?” The desire to make her happy was overwhelming, and he’d only ever felt that way around Pepper before.

“No, no, I love it,” Darcy promised. “It’s just… a little… can I move all the furniture into another bedroom and replace the floor with mattresses?”

Tony stared at her in confusion for a moment, his hands dropping. “Um… sure…” he replied slowly. He shook himself and nodded, suddenly sounding more sure. “Yes, yes, absolutely. Do you need any pillows or blankets to go with it?” _And why do you need a room full of mattresses?_

Darcy nodded. “Yeah, thanks,” she said. “I, um… I just think I might need the extra sleeping space if things are going the way I think they’re going.”

“Oh?” Tony asked, only for the realization to hit him. “Oh! You’re… who with? Anyone here? If not, they’re gonna need a security check.”

Red rushed to Darcy’s cheeks. “Um, yeah, some of them are,” she confessed. Her eyes darted to Tony’s crotch before going back to his face. “You’re blushing.”

Tony wasn’t one to blush, but he definitely felt the heat in his cheeks. “Well it must be the orgy talk,” he declared, making it sound like a joke when it so clearly wasn’t. He plastered a smile on his face, going back into his arrogant façade. “So are Pepper and I invited?” he asked with a smirk.

“Absolutely,” Darcy promised, her voice lower than usual.

“Okay then,” Tony replied with a nod. He turned, heading towards his and Pepper’s apartment. The second he walked in the door, he wrapped an arm around Pepper’s waist and pulled her into a kiss.

Pepper moaned into the kiss but pulled away nevertheless. “What’s that about?” she asked. Tony was hard against her thigh, and he pulled her closer to feel his erection.

When Pepper whimpered a little in pleasure, Tony leaned in and whispered in her ear, “The new intern has invited us to an orgy.” He planted gentle kisses along her neck. “I don’t think I’ve been to an orgy since we got together.”

A laugh escaped Pepper, and she let her head fall back. “You don’t _think_?” she asked teasingly. The straight-laced CEO was an entirely different person when it came to sex. Instead of being the strict, nose-to-the-grindstone boss, she was open and free. “If you went to an orgy without me, we’d be having a pretty serious talk right now.”

Tony snickered and rubbed Pepper’s back. “Maybe we should go tell Darcy what we think,” he suggested.

“That sounds wonderful,” Pepper agreed.

Tony took her hand and led her out of the apartment into the common room. Darcy was sitting on the couch in Natasha’s lap getting her back rubbed by the redhead, and Erik was sitting in a chair close by reading a book.

“You know, I don’t think my mother was ever as closely linked to her sensates as you all are,” Erik declared. “She never got romantically involved with any of them. Though I take it you’re celebrating?”

A small grin passed over Natasha’s face, and she kissed Darcy’s ear. “I was with Pepper for a minute the other day,” the redhead explained. “I don’t think she realized; her back was to me.”

Darcy grinned as well, tilting her head a bit towards Natasha. “I think I managed to get Tony to talk to Pepper about sharing an apartment with us,” she added in. “Our lives were already all intertwined, and there’s a reason for that.”

Tony and Pepper watched the interaction for a moment before Tony stepped forward and cleared his throat. “So what are sensates?” he asked.

Erik snorted and buried his face in his book. “You didn’t sense that?” he asked.

Darcy and Natasha moved in sync, each grabbing their left shoe and tossing them lightheartedly at the elderly scientist.

“What _are_ sensates?” Pepper asked, moving over to the couch.

“It’s a… sort of a connection,” Darcy explained. “There are eight of us who can feel what the others are feeling, see what they’re seeing, and draw on each other’s experiences.”

Tony raised an eyebrow. “And you think we’re sensates?”

Natasha scoffed. “Oh, we know we’re sensates,” she replied. “So far there’s the four of us, Steve, and Bucky. Neither Darcy nor I have gotten enough from the other two to figure out who they are.”

“Erik said our connection’s only going to get stronger as we get to know each other,” Darcy explained. “His mom was a sensate.”

“You should’ve seen poor Darcy when she first connected with Natasha and Bucky,” Erik declared. “She got shot and he got tortured.”

Pepper narrowed her eyes. “If we’re all sensates, how come we didn’t feel it, too?”

“It can vary,” Erik explained. “Darcy’s always been very empathetic, so it makes sense that she noticed the connection first and very strongly.” He gave the four a little smile before getting to his feet. “I’ll let the lot of you get to know each other.”


End file.
